BY YANG XIAOHAN
On 9 28, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (hereinafter referred to as "NFRA") announced that it recently held a joint technology insurance promotion meeting with the Ministry of Science and Technology and other departments.
Technology insurance is a vital component of the broader tech finance strategy, playing a critical role in mitigating innovation risks and providing financial support. In 3 this year, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Intellectual Property Administration jointly issued "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating High-Quality Development of Technology Insurance to Strongly Support High-Level Scientific and Technological Self-Reliance" (hereinafter referred to as the "Technology Insurance Opinion"). The document outlines 20 policy measures across 6 key areas: strengthening insurance coverage for major national science and technology tasks, technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises, and priority sectors; enhancing technology insurance products and services; facilitating insurance capital investment; and improving oversight and safeguards.
A multi-department meeting was held to implement the "Opinions on Technology Insurance," summarize practical experiences from localities and insurers, and deploy key tasks for the next phase. The meeting noted that in recent years, departments, regions, and insurers have worked together to advance technology insurance from pilot exploration to systematic implementation. Business scale has grown rapidly, and coverage has continued to expand. From 1 to 8 of 2026, technology insurance provided risk protection totaling RMB 8.7 trillion for science and technology activities, representing a year-over-year increase of 66.9%.
In response, Zhou Jin, Partner at Tianzhi International's Financial Services Consulting practice, told the Securities Daily that the rapid growth of the technology insurance market is primarily driven by the following factors: First, policy support. The National Financial Regulatory Administration, Ministry of Science and Technology, and other departments have jointly launched initiatives, including premium subsidies and tax incentives, resulting in a concentrated release of benefits.
Second, supply expansion: the number of business entities has increased to over 60, with significant improvements in professional capabilities and product offerings.
Third, demand is rising as national investment in technology increases, leading to a surge in tech SMEs and rapidly growing risk protection needs.
Fourth, drive product innovation by expanding coverage beyond single policies for first-of-a-kind equipment to the entire value chain, including R&D, pilot testing, technology transfer, initial trials and applications, and industrialization.
Zhou Jin stated that the rapid growth of technology insurance helps diversify innovation risks, lower companies' innovation costs, and stabilize return expectations for new technologies. Additionally, it empowers and enhances creditworthiness for tech-focused SMEs, eases financing challenges, removes bottlenecks in first-time purchases and usage, accelerates the commercialization of scientific achievements, and enables insurance to evolve from "economic compensation" to "risk reduction."
The meeting emphasized that technology insurance is an effective tool for improving the risk-sharing mechanism for major technological breakthroughs and supporting high-level scientific self-reliance. We must implement relevant policies by addressing "who needs coverage, what to cover, and how to insure," leveraging the insurance industry's role as an economic shock absorber and a social stabilizer.
Looking ahead, Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank (Beijing) Information Consulting Co., Ltd., told the Securities Daily that to improve the quality of technology insurance operations and achieve sustainable growth, insurers should take two key steps. First, they must address data gaps. Historically, the tech sector has lacked sufficient risk data accumulation, leading to inaccuracies in actuarial pricing. By fully understanding risk characteristics across the entire innovation lifecycle, insurers can design precise products and avoid issues like mispricing or coverage mismatches. Second, insurance services should move beyond traditional post-claim settlement models. Instead, risk assessment and monitoring should be integrated early into the daily innovation processes of tech enterprises. This shifts insurance's role from purely "economic compensation" to a comprehensive capability that includes risk reduction and value enhancement through credit support.
